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"My teacher was a bully."

We asked GreatSchools parents to share their experiences with bully teachers and principals. Here are a few of their stories:

“My seventh grade math teacher told me I was a loser and I would never amount to anything. … To this day, I hate math. Hmmm, I wonder why…” writes Heather Long.

“. . . my son’s second grade teacher was a bitter young woman who was always screaming, grounding, and mistreating the kids…” writes Jeannette Golindano.

“My son’s fourth grade teacher made some mean crack about him being a redhead . . . I thought that was extremely rude and thoughtless,” writes Patti Barretta Steele.

“Well, at my child’s school the principal is the bully and her teachers are the lackeys. They run and tell her everything like they can’t handle situations themselves. They are very petty. The principal acts as if she wants the students to fear her or act like they are soldiers. They can’t do anything wrong or make a mistake and she calls them names,” writes Dvine Lovin.

By Jessica Kelmon

Taking action

In the face of such blatant bullying, Sigal offers this advice: “First thing you have to do is document, document, document.” Write down the date, the time, and exactly what happened. Despite the obvious pain you’re feeling as a parent, Sigal says, it’s crucial to be as reasonable and objective as possible.

If the situation isn't too egregious, meet with the teacher to see if you can find a resolution. If that doesn't work, Sigal recommends learning what you can from everyone at school — your child, other kids, parents in the class. Volunteer at school, drive the carpool, keep your ear to the ground, all the while documenting everything you learn. During this fact-finding period, Sigal says to start building a support network of parents — after all, one parent's complaints can easily be waved off, while a group of concerned parents has more chance of being heard.

Sigal advises parents to resist storming the principal’s office right away. “Follow the chain of command,” she says, starting with, say, a senior teacher or the head of that teacher’s department, then the vice principal, principal, principal’s supervisor, and superintendent. This approach works in your favor for two reasons: One, the closer someone is to the problem, the more likely they’ll be able to take swift, effective action; and two, when you go to the top, one of the first questions will be, 'Who have you talked to about this, and what did they say?' If you can’t answer effectively, you’re likely to be directed back to those you’ve skipped. And always, says Sigal, document every bullying incident. “If you have documentation for a couple of months, they can’t ignore that," Sigal says. "And if they try to, I’d say 'I’m going to the newspaper.'”

A battle kids can’t fight

When it comes to protecting kids from bully teachers, sadly kids are in a vulnerable position — and ill-equipped to fight the battle on their own.

Case in point: A high school junior in Boston, MA who now needs an attorney's help to clear his school record. The teen repeatedly — and in vain — asked to be moved out of a class where he felt like the target of an abusive teacher, says his lawyer Daniel Maloney. The acrimonious situation came to a head one day when the boy vented his frustrations — and it sounded like a threat. He was summarily suspended, putting a mar on his permanent record that may jeopardize his college prospects. Moral of the story? The teen was unable to defend himself against the bully teacher and now needs legal help to protect his future.

When it comes to bully teachers, there’s no real silver lining — but there are different routes parents can take. In Eubank’s case, homeschooling was the best choice. Now her son is happily back in a public high school and doing well with “brilliant teachers,” she says. For Sigal, a school transfer did the trick. But she believes following certain protocol — like documenting every incident, building a support system, and working up the chain of command — can protect kids from continued trauma at the hands of a bully teacher and save them from the ordeal of leaving a school altogether. But, says Sigal, the fight to protect your child from a bully teacher may not (and usually won’t) be easy.

Related links

Comments from GreatSchools.org readers

07/11/2012:

"I was bullied by several teachers in 7th and 8th grade, and it had a huge
effect on my life at the time. I was always extremely quiet and shy, and I
did not dress well as my family did not have much money. They made fun
of me in front of the whole class, they wrote me up, I had one teacher who
had another student search my backpack when I left the room and she made
fun of me about the book that I was reading. I was not allowed to use the
restroom because they decided I was going too often(I ended up getting a
kidney infection), and one teacher suggested that I sit in the back of his
classroom for the rest of the year in the corner. I will never let a
teacher treat my children this way, and I think i'm smart enough to know
the difference between a manipulative child and a genuinely upset child.
That being said, other than that small group of teachers I have had some
excellent teachers- I think empathy and compassion is a necessity.
"

07/5/2012:

"I was bullied by many teachers when I was in school, but I just tolerated
it because I thought that I had to. Sometimes in life you have to deal
with people who aren't nice to you; parents shouldn't always get involved
when their kids are being bullied. 90% of the time, parents need to help
their kids deal with unkind people. The only time parents should get
involved is if the fight isn't fair. If a teacher is severely bullying a
child, parents should definitely get involved. If they can't change
things, they should help their kids cope. Like I said, kids will have to
eventually deal with mean people in the world that they can't always run
away from--and teaching them to cope will help.
"

06/13/2012:

"I have volunteered at school and have been at the front of the class. I
have met some of the most wonderful teachers on this planet. Then I have
met some that should be under the planet or as far away from children as
possible. Anyone that uses the excuse that a child doesn't learn respect
at home as a means to justify being a bully has some serious issues.
There are steps that work to get a child to change their behavior in the
classroom. I have seen these steps used and I have seen them work. That
does not excuse a bully for a teacher. Anyone that tries to justify this
has no business around children period. If you are a good teacher that
has never bullied a child, stop protecting those who do. Good teachers
are recognized for what they do. In turn, bad teacher should be
recognized for what they are. It is not a reflection on a good teacher,
it is a reflection on the bad. Don't believe me? Ask anyone here. They
remember and sing the praises about those specia!
l teachers. But don't expect us to be quiet when our children are being
abused by a bad one. My job as a parent, first and foremost, is to
protect my child from any form of abuse.
"

06/12/2012:

"I just wish that those of you who wish to bash teachers would, for just
one day, volunteer to be in the classroom and take on the job for the day.
Be up in front of 30 kids, maintain a productive learning environment,
keep every kid safe, be mom, teacher, counselor, nurse, cook, and
custodian, as well as referee and see how well you do. There are students
out there that are NOT taught respect at home and, therefore, do not know
how to be respectful at school. When they see the stresses that teachers
are put under and know that there are some buttons to push to make it
worse, they do. Just do it for one day!!!!!!!
"

06/7/2012:

"Our usually well behaved and very bright Kindergartner grandson was having
some behavioral problems at a supposedly well regarded LAUSD school. This
included hiding under his desk, running out of the classroom, so his
parents asked us to go in and observe. We saw among other things a
disorganized, cluttered, messy and dirty room, led by a bad teacher with
15 years of experience who lacks any classroom management skills, who was
wasting instructional time, nagging the kids, and using negative
discipline in a pathetic attempt to pretend to engage the most depressed
class of 5 to 6 year olds I've ever seen. Let's put it this way, Tthere
certainly wasn't any joy in room 3. The teacher even interrupted the
reading of a story to have an inane conversation with her aide. Before I
left, the teacher asked me who I was observing and I identified my self
as the grandmother. The next thing out of her mouth (said in a very nasty
intimidating tone) was "Well, Do you have a name?"!
If she talks like that to an adult she's never even met before, I
think we all can figure out how she speaks to the kids when she is alone
in that classroom. After my husband observed, she told him it wasn't
usually so disorganized. Like anyone would believe that!. She told that
my grandson is sweet but defiant because he'd rather read a book than sit
on the filthy rug waiting endlessly until she finally gets around to what
passes for instruction in that classroom. Apparently he doesn't jump right
to it and put down his book when she demands he waste time waiting around
for her to actually do some real teaching. Today she terrorized him to
the point he wouldn't come out from under his desk so she had him pulled
out so forcefully it left marks under his armpits. I'll give my grandson
credit, he's at least trying to keep himself occupied in a classroom
where nothing is going on and he's being taught by a bully, but the poor
kid hasn't figured out that his resilien!
cy and attempts to try and make the best out of a bad situati!
on are making him the target of this union hack. If the principal
doesn't deal with this to our satisfaction tomorrow. ( I have a zero
tolerance policy for bad teachers and bullies) next step will be to start
at the top of the school food chain and work my way down to ensure that
she doesn't do this to any more children.
"

06/7/2012:

"This teacher is unacceptable! I shure do hope the principle has realized
her behavior towards children. Children are people too! They shouldn't be
treated like that and I hope she gets fired!
"

06/5/2012:

"We had an issue this past year with a teacher bullying. My child was being
refused the bathroom too much. He would come home and pee more than an
adult man. A few days later I picked him up with a high fever. He asked
before lunch to see the nurse and was told some kids lie. I had to carry
him from my car to my house he was so sick. The unions keep these nut
cases in business at the local schools.
"

05/31/2012:

"wow. So glad but still sad , that we are not alone. We have followed every
recommendation: document document etc... remain reasonable...the only step
we could not secure was building the support system IN the school. The
parents there are so intimidated by this teacher because she is the gate
keeper so to speak of the gate program. The only paerents with stories
stories stories had already left the school . It helped us becuase at
least i knew we were not the problem, but without the multiple complaints
, that horrid person is still there. She is adept and manipulating
parents and children against each other and only bullies two children a
year. So she has set her self up for continued success. Two families
dont make an army and the rest are so manipulated by her neverending
gossip that they dont speak to each other by the end of the year. She is
the textbook example of a teacher who by the grace of Unions still has her
job. She shouldnt even be pumping gas.
"

05/30/2012:

"This is just horible is anyone doing something about it ?
"

05/29/2012:

"My son's principal is the bully and since the schoolboard lets the
principals get away with anything there is no accountability. My child
has been refused an IEP for four years until finally they had no choice to
give one. The principal now is targeting my child having staff follow
her, make up lies about her, and have even called CPS on us because we
wouldn't go along with what he wanted to do. So much for being one of the
best school systems in Montgomery County MD. There are a lot of dirty
little secrets that are the best kept secret going.
"

05/16/2012:

"What ever the reason, teachers are not allowed to mistreat, disrespect or
underestimate young people. I am a teacher but my 7 yr daughter got
bullied by her teacher more than 5 times, the principal did nothing, I
document every single piece...but I feel my daughter start hate the
school. We ll done new generation of teachers!
This is the main objective in your career, bully kids because it is simple
to say "That was not happened, and they are laying!"
"

05/10/2012:

"Teaching is an exceptionally difficult profession. More often than not
parents side with their children, who can be very manipulative in their
representation of the situation. The "normal" disruptive behavior --they
are kids, after all-- would be easier to deal with if teachers weren't
pressured to produce high test scores with 30 kids in the class. Even
with 30 "good" kids, at any given time one of them is going to be
inattentive. An aside: teacher-student ratio is often a good indicator
of school quality.
Teachers are given little respect and are poorly paid. That is NOT a
recipe to attract the cream of the crop into the field of education. I
know so many people that would have gone into teaching but decided against
it because of what's happening to the teachers' unions and the pathetic
salary.
"

05/7/2012:

"What a sad thing to hear. I'm going through an issue with one of my
child's teachers. My child has ADHD and is bipolar. The school told me
they could handle it. I've found out the hard way they cannot. My child
is very bright, scoring higher on even international scores. One teacher
has ruined her confidence in herself though. I even had Behavioral Health
step in to tell this school they were doing things all wrong and they
won't listen. A while ago my daughter's medication was being adjusted and
I warned her teacher that she would have issues because of this for a bit.
This "teacher" claimed my daughter just didn't want to do her work, was
making excuses and was trying to get out of things. Her grades dropped
lower than they ever have (she's always been an A/B student). After she
was on a new medication, her grades went back up. Put it this way, she
went from a D in Science to an A+ very shortly after. The teacher still
will not admit it was the medication bein!
g adjusted and still wants to blame my daughter. From what I've heard
she constantly snaps at my daughter. My daughter has always been well
liked by her teachers and I've never run into problems like this. Even
though she has had mostly A's and B's for the school year, they want to
keep her back. The teacher claims it's because of her maturity level.
The child has ADHD and bipolar disorder for crying out loud! Children
with these disorders are very possibly not going to be as mature as
others. I've not noticed a difference in her maturity level compared with
other kids her age though, and neither has anyone else for that matter.
I'm home schooling her for now on, which is, obviously, what I should have
done from the get go.
"

05/7/2012:

"My 15 year old daughter started complaining about her AP english teacher.
My daughter is in gifted and talented classes and never complains. Then
she started coming home crying everyday. I found out from her friends that
the teacher had been saying things to them like "If you lay with dogs you
get fleas" about my daughter. She was saying this in front of the class.
She was also talking about my daughter in her other classes. She let her
student teacher call my daughter trashy. My daughter has a 3.9 average,
scores advanced on the eoi's and is a cheerleader. She if far from
trashy!!! And never a behavior problem. This has been a nightmare.
"

04/30/2012:

"R U kidding me? what is wrong with these school systems, Im sick and tired
of the B.O.E thinking there above the law the teachers as well hide behind
there ten yr, they should be FIRED, hey heres a food for thought, if you
dont like what your doing GET OUT, dont take it out on our kids!!!!!!
"

04/23/2012:

"2 years ago i was in 7th grade and my science teacher was bullying
me....we had watched a movie on adhd and my teacher said that i had that
even tho i didnt....then one time she slapped me on my face and she pulled
my hair. i told my grandma and she told the vice principal who didnt
belive anything...so all the vice principal did was made my teacher say
sorry....now i found out she was sort of doing the same thing to one of my
friends....i dnt know how to help when the staff doesnt believe me.
"

04/16/2012:

"If my 10 year old, impressionable, imperfect son is not an angel in your
class room then use the behavior process in place, don't bully him
instead. Since when is sarcasm, shaming, insults, mocking and general
nastiness a teaching method?
"

04/6/2012:

"That happens to me and I tell my mom but she won't listen! :(
"

03/26/2012:

"This was helpful. My children were going through the same issue. They were
being bullied by an adult (teacher). I am glad to see more awareness on
Bullying. It could destroy a child. We assume because some one is a
teacher they are going to act appropriately with our children and that is
not always the case. We need to listen to our children and be aware of any
red flags.
"

03/21/2012:

"Bullying by an educator takes many forms. Misuse of involuntary
confinement (in Florida The Baker Act). The hospitals in both recent
confinements had to "receive" the child because a Baker Acted child is
transported handcuffed in a squad car. In each incident the receiving
facility said protocol was not followed and the child did not meet the
criteria that defines the need for involuntary confinement. Nonetheless,
the child is required to be confined for 72 hours AFTER the child is seen
by a doctor and that could mean more than 72 hours. Thousands of dollars
in bills have accrued in addition to the psychological damage heaped upon
this non-violent, compliant child. Why? Because she is bullied and bulk
bullied child is a nuisance especially for those schools boasting "zero
tolerance...." ad nauseam.
"

03/21/2012:

"Wow, I am so glad to see someone finally covering this. I, too, saw a
dramatic change in our child who said his teacher was mean. It turned out,
mean meant saying things like, "Why can't you ever do anything right?"
Ripping up papers were a favorite. The teacher chose 3 bright daydreamy
children each year as her targets. For some of these children, the class
turned on them too, and they have never been the same. I missed it for
most of the year, wondering why the awful fall in confidence, nail biting,
threats to run away in order not to go to school - all because I assumed
that I knew what mean meant - and I didn't. Ask your child to tell you
more if they say a teacher is mean!!!!! Ask them to pretend they are the
teacher. What are they saying? I wish I had - sooner!!!
"

03/21/2012:

"While I grasp the that we sometimes think our children can do no wrong I
find it alarming that a comment can trivialize the plight of a child who
has been humiliated and treated in appropriately by an educator. Educators
are simply human beings who have the same failing and achievements as do
other societal groups. So in response to the 3/6/12 comment I ask would
you be saying the intake social workers and doctors at 'Miami Children's
hospital suffer the same delusion to which you refer? If the intake staff
at this institution state that this involuntary confinement is
unwarranted, if they say protocol was ignored, if they say the child
should not be in a mental ward there, if they say they are bound by law to
retain the handcuffed child. Would you say the parents are delusional?
This is a form of bullying. As a foreign (legal!) child whose mother
tongue is not English, a child who has learned English, as a child who may
compromise the statistics upon which the school is graded she is
vulnerable to self serving human adult educators. I won't go into how they
manipulated this child into the parameters of the Baker Act. Suffice it to
say, your comment served no one and, while you are entitled to state your
opinion, as a supposedly wise adult you should know not to use such broad
brush strokes. Not all children are angels, true. Neither is every bullied
child a non compliant brat as you intimate. Beware of cutting words that
don't don't help anything except your need to be heard, the schools are
sacrosanct. Finding a history on this man is impossible.
"

03/6/2012:

"It is so amazing to me how so many parents think that there children are
angels, that they always do the right things, the obey the rules, follow
instructions, are not disrespectful, and i could go on and on about how
parents perceive their children. When the reality is that you really dont
know how your children are when they are at school. I am the first to
admit that my child can be capable of doing the wrong thing instead of
the right thing. As adults we should be able to look other adults
behavior and see the inappropriateness of many of the things we do, and we
should know better. As children they will always push their limits. So to
always hear parents bashing teacher for having to put up with your not so
great children, just makes me wonder if you really know the stresses of
teaching 20 different personalities everyday, and maintain complete
composure. So maybe you should ask yourself who is really the Bully?
"

02/28/2012:

"As for my child the aadults are the bullies at his school, especially one
of the assistant principles. I watched my sons grades drop from one
marking period to the next and nothing has changed at home to make this
happen. I go to the school to get involved with teachers and guidance, yet
I never get calls back and I am still waitiing to get meetings with
teachers for about a month now.
"

02/21/2012:

"When I moved I had to take my son out of the best school district in the
state and transfer him to the worst. Since that time I had more problems.
I told them was ADHD. He has an IEP, but his disability was not ADHD. I
would get calls, and report to his doctor, we would raise his meds, and
recently I found that it was not necessary. I had not been given accurate
information on his behavior. The majority of his behavior was provoked by
other kids (bullied), my son was defending himself (mostly) verbally. He
had reported to his teachers that he was being bullied, he was making it
up according to them, the things he told me are not something that could
be made up. His teachers would not listen to him or me....and blamed my
son. Here recently, my child was heard making a threat to another child
of whom he had known since the 4th grade and were friends and teased each
other all the time. The other child also threaten my son in reference to
a shotgun....but this was no!
t heard....therefore my son was punished. I had come to the conclusion
that if it is not heard, it did not occur. There is a knew assist.
principal at this school, who reminds you that he is administration.....I
see him as a bully with authority and has a name tag to back it up. One
of my son's teachers uses intimidation as a teaching method. This assist
principal uses intimidation and public humiliation. I too work for a
school district and the rules and regulations are the same for teachers
and staff. The majority of the students in this school are hispanic whose
parents speak little or no english. My son is white. They may use these
intimidation techiques on those that don't understand, but I know what
they can and cannot do. Because as a school employee I can't. If these
teachers took child psycology in their studies to become a teacher, they
seriously need to take a refresher course. I have pulled my son out he
will be homeschooled.
"

02/15/2012:

"This article really hit home for me. My younger son - who is a senior now
- has had to deal with similar bullying scenario's through out most of his
school years (from Elementary on through High School). And of course, I
was right there with him dealing with this mess. Thankfully, there were
many caring and excellent teachers along the way, too. But, my son was
just this side of a special ed child (he entered Kindergarten with an IEP
and we gave it up when he was a HS Freshman) - so he was not the easiest
child to have in a class. This meant he was the kind of child that really
highlighted the good teachers - AND principals - from the bad: it is easy
to teach a classroom of kids who sit still and stay in line, but not every
child (or person) learns the same way; its the really good teachers who
know how to teach ALL children.
That topic aside, my son's unique qualities tended to make him a target
for bullying not only by other kids, but by teachers. The confession that
was noted in this article from the teacher on how he used to pick on the
special ed kids is an example in point. This is not a unique confession -
I can tell you that from my own personal experience.
Volunteering whenever I could (I became widowed when my son was in 3rd
grade, so was not able to put in the same time at the schools after that
point); keeping an open line of communications with the school and
teachers; being an available parent to my son and to the teachers;
listening carefully to my son ("How did your day go today?"); staying as
fair and unbiased as I could when I was needed for conferences; and,
documenting like crazy. This is how each school year has been. But after
a while, I became a wee bit more exhausted as each year passed -
particularly when I would have to deal with an unsupportive administration
(the Principal of a school sets the tone for every thing that happens in
the school, including how a teacher is allowed to perform).
What I eventually had to focus on was helping my son navigate these
unfortunate situations each year. I had to tell him that the world is not
always fair, that there are going to be other not so nice people that he
will have to encounter as an adult. And fortunately we found a wonderful
LSW (therapist) who helped my son develop coping skills to deal with all
of this - including the bullying.
To me, this article is about the importance of advocating for your child.
The trick in all this is to remain fair. (Which is why many parents
resort to home schooling) The best scenario is to be able as a parent to
be a volunteer at the schools - this is a win win win situation: for the
school, the child and the parent.
The other message underlying this article is you cannot assume that the
"professionals" in the school either know what they are doing or even have
your child's best interest in mind. They are there to pull a paycheck,
and that means they are there to make their boss look good.
Thank you for a very good article.
"

02/9/2012:

"When I was in sixth grade, I remember going to a meeting with my parents
about my grades, which were horrible. I was failing reading and was almost
so on several other subjects. All my teachers were there, plus the social
workers, and they were horrible. they said really nasty things about me in
front of me. they were calling me lazy and that i wasn't trying hard
enough when it was clear that i was. they didn't believe my ADHD diagnosis
as well as Dyscalculia; they thought it was all lies or at least
exaggeration. they thought it was all my fault but it was not. even the
social workers were not kind either. they also called me rude and things
like that- it was a long time ago. I remember leaving the room in tears
because that was how bad it was. Well, guess what? I was never
transferred. I stayed there for two more agonizing years. It's really sad,
but true.
"

02/9/2012:

"Amen! The article sounds like I wrote it! My son is in the 6th grade in
Alabama and suffers from the same exact problem..BAD TEACHERS. Yes plural.
I am moving schools this week. The decision to do so was intently pondered
and researched. My husband and I believe the academic and social rut my
wonderful child has fallen victim to will harm him in the long haul.
Therefore, switching school is the sain thing to do.TOO MANY BAD
TEACHERS!!!!
"

02/7/2012:

"My son was the victim of a teacher bully . Staff members, including the
principal,openly admitted the teacher was a bully andbparticularly picked
on high IQ kids. One staff member begged us tto take a stand as parents.
She felt complicit to the abusive bullying and was desperate for it to
end. She said it would take parents to put an end to it. We took a
stand and the principal turned on us and called us names in meetings and
private. She accused us as being "toxic" repeatedly. The principal
successfully silenced concerned staff and vilified parents with legitimate
concerns. Even though nine families made a written complaint detailing
five years of terrible teacher bullying, the district and school police
mainyain everything is fine. This teacher thinks it is ok yo regularly
berate kids with extensive screaming sessions, call kids "stupid" and
isolate target kids to be further bullied by peers. We've been to the
media, which forced the superintendent to promise to!
investigate on news show. Guess what? Ther has been no investigation
and three families had to pull their kids and privately educate them
because staff turned nasty to familiesvwho took a stand. The teacher's
union is protecting abusers of every type. When will parents demand
better for kids? Ending guaranteed teacer employment is the only way to
lessen abuses in public ed system. As it is now, tenured teachers can
break child abuse laws and not be held accountable. Teacher colleagues
turn a blind eye and allow abuse to continue because they don 't question
hard line union tactics. Good teachers must demand that kids be protected
from abuse. Districts allow abuse to continue because thy don 't want to
go through long, expensiveprocess to fire abusive teachers. Kids suffer,
good teachers become complicit and bully teachers win.
"

02/6/2012:

"I have had more ineffective and bullying type teachers and administrators
than I have had good teachers. It is a futile situation when the
administrators back the teachers. Every year it's a battle trying to find
a good school with good teachers. I'm tired of new teachers that use
demeaning tactics that they learned in school. The teachers teach below
grade level and demean me and my kids because they want to learn more and
more, and I am made to feel that I'm pushing my kids. We have always used
a developmental type of learning programs...not high academics. The
teachers that comment here, are obviously oblivious to the teachers that
yell, threaten, demean, and send home way too much homework. I am also
criticized for being an involved parent. I will never allow some to take
over my role as a parent and "mold" my child. What place or right do they
have? Child protective services would step in and take my children away
with some of the abuses these kids have to su!
ffer at the hands of "teachers" in school. It's like they have the
license to mistreat and psychologically harm children. Amazing what our
society has come to.
"

02/6/2012:

"my class was watching a movie i was finishing a test my teacher moves my
desk outside of the classroom and closes the door i start thinking about
but it did not make sense "

01/30/2012:

"my math teacher is known to be a mean teacher because she once hit a kid
with a textbook but never got pink slipped because she was "supposevly"the
best teacher.i hate learning math from her.whenever she observes me i get
nervous and dont do nothing so she yells at me for not doing anything.
"

01/17/2012:

"ItÂ´s awful to deal with a bad teacher, but itÂ´s worst when your child is
affraid of expressing the way he feels at school. Evaluations might show
us all the happenings inside the classroom.
"

01/17/2012:

"Our family's story is similar to this one. Our gifted boy enjoyed school
and was adored by his teachers until he got to fourth grade. Suddenly all
we heard from the teacher was highly negative. She was more concerned
with how messily he ate a cupcake than the fact our normally bold kid was
terrified of her screaming tirades and targeting him for isolation from
peers. We heard from multiple concerned staff that they were worried
about the teacher mistreating our son. They had witnessed her berating
him and asked that we take a stand. Even the principal admitted to us
this teacher was an administrator's worse nightmare and that she bullied
high iq kids. We offered to come alongside the principal as a parent
group to help her deal with this abusive teacher. We thought the
principal would stand for kids but she decided to stand with the bully
teacher and the union. She has publicly vilified me by calling me toxic.
She successfully moved the attention off the bullying t!
eacher. Other families came forward with horrible stories of this same
teacher absolutely traumatizing kids for many years. At least one kid
needed therapy after this teacher traumatized him with her uncontrollable
anger and name calling. Those staff who formerly were so concerned got in
big trouble with the principal and lost any shred of moral courage they
once possessed. They refuse to speak to my family, they refuse to protect
kids from a known abuser. The staff prefers to protect their standing
with teachers' union than to follow child protection laws. The Cal. Dept.
Of Ed. Requires that this site come into compliance with child abuse
reporting procedures. I highlighted this at a school site council meeting
and the principal subsequently silenced me with a very threatening letter
stating she would call the police if I continued. She has gone to great
lengths to protect the bully. We left the school and privately educate
our kids. However we worry about the !
children who continue to suffer under this bully teacher.
The saddest part is we have taken this concern to the very top
administrators. They are fully aware of what children in their care
endure. They balk at the power of teacher's union and the high cost of
firing a teacher due to excessive employment rights. It costs districts
hundreds of thousands to fire incometent or abusive teachers and typically
a firing is overthrown. It isn't cost effective to hold abusive or
incompetent teachers accountable. The district won't even follow it's own
admincode in regard to teacher misconduct. Until parents gain political
leverage by forming powerful kids first unions kids will be last place in
public ed. Most parents just want to drop off their kids at school and
leave them there in someone else's care and hope for the best. Very, very
few parents take a closer look at campus dynamics, teacher effectiveness,
political influences on schools. Most parents don't want to unote with
other parents to improve schools in a real way. Most !
teachers want to be left alone in their own classroom and do not do the
heavier analytical thinking necessary to question how the teachers' union
actually HURTS children by ensuring life-time employment for the worst
teachers. This is the status quo. Most educators are comfortable with
it. Most parents just accept it. Do you?
"

01/12/2012:

"A few months ago, my son's fourth grade teacher bullied him because of his
disability, often in front of the class. This created an environment that
allowed, even encouraged, the whole class to follow suit. Within a month,
my bright and caring child hated school, after two months became suicidal.
Principal DEFENDED teacher.I withdrew him but he is now diagnosed with
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression, on top of his existing
disability, which, as a direct result of her bullying, he now blames
himself for. She has damaged him irreparably. Teachers DO bully students,
and it appears they get away with it.
"

01/9/2012:

"My 3 yrs old daughter has been the target of her teacher in preschool.
First, we had to travel overseas to visit the family and she started
school a few week late. She was adjusting to the new tasks she had at
school, the teacher had a new shape game and the child picks a shape
randomly and finds that shape on the rug. My daughter is very shy, she had
mostly new classmates. She told the teacher she didn`t want to try that
game first. The teacher said she had to. The day I was co-oping in the
classroom room, my daughter started crying because she didn`t want to do
that game. The teacher said I would need to leave the classroom because my
presence was being disruptive to my daughter`s behavior and the child
needs to learn who is in charge. As my daughter is screaming crying while
I am out the classroom, the teacher picks a second job for my daughter,
the weather chart. She ignores the child is crying and grabs her outside
the classroom to check the weather and come back to t!
ell what it looks like to her classmates.
I called the teacher afterwards and asked her to please, understand she my
daughter takes a little longer with transitions and for her to be more
accommodating. Also, if she cries due to distress, to do not turn her the
center of attention in the classroom. I thought things were getting better
when something else came up.
The second time, my daughter said she didn`t need to go potty before going
out to play. Few minutes later she had an accident. The teacher called her
on the corner and told me her she was suppose to sit down on the potty
before going outside, because she didn`t do it the teacher was not going
to change her and she was going to be left wet until I would pick her up
20 min later. Which kind of lesson is that? It was also cold.
I was planning to talk to her in private when I heard a third story from
another parent.
They had a fire drill at school. The teacher explained how it worked.
Then, someone rings this fake bell that barely made a noise. All the
children run outside and my daughter stops by the door a bit now knowing
what to do. The teacher grabs her outside. Later they all came back inside
the class and she discuss the fire drill saying to the children when they
hear the bell, they should all run out and not do like (my daughter`s
name) stopping by the door. My daughter feels ashamed and hangs down her
head.
The teacher has a very strong personality and many parents are afraid of
her. She likes my husband and I, and I don`t think she realizes she is a
bully. But I also think she is not going to change. She never believes she
is wrong and that is her approach in life for everything.
Now, I don`t know if I talk to her again or if I just switch school in
Jan?! :( "

01/9/2012:

"My child was being bullied his teacher, and a kid in his class. To make a
long story short - when I realized the teacher took no responsibility for
the climate in her class, and didn't acknowledge my child's pain at all
(his test scores lowered dramatically and he refused to go to school) I
unleashed onto her a Whoop-ass I am sure she will never forget. Then I
called the Vice Principal, the School Counselor and, eventually, the
Principal. I documented everything - was polite but firm - and reminded
them in a pretty dramatic fashion that kids with disabilities are
protected under the Constitution of the US. I did this all in front of my
child so he knows he is worthy of love and protection - and I modeled for
him how to protect himself. My message to fellow parents - DO NOT BACK
DOWN. STAND FIRM and threaten to pull your child out of the school if the
problem is not cleared up to your satisfaction immediately. My kid is
still in the bully teachers class - and it's all I can d!
o to not taunt her by asking if - "Bullying made her stronger".
"

01/4/2012:

"My son had an abusive bully for a 5th grade teacher. She would throw
things like markers, pencils, or a box at kids. She would slam their
binders on the floor (often breaking them). She would throw their
backpacks into the wall. She would turn their desks upside down until all
contents fell out. She screamed frequently yat unpredictably. If you
breathed wrong, you were humiliated in front of the class and then sent
outside for up to an hour, unsupervised and missing instructional time.
The worse part of this story is she has been doing this for 10 years.
My question for Great Schools and for your readers, is how can one get
this teacher to stop or removed from teaching. I have pages of
documentation, a parent survey completed by 25 parents, a petition signed
by 30 parents, 7 parents testified at a school board meeting. I have
contacted the Police, CPS, CA Teacher credentialling, Federal Civil Rights
office - all of these places say it isn't within their jurisdiction to
deal with this. Even though the law very clearly mandates
educators/doctors to file an abuse report or else be charged w/a crime
carrying jail time and/or a fine. They all say you can do a civil suit
but civil suits don't fix the problem. Where is the accountability within
our criminal system of law?
Why should 41% of this class report symptoms of depression and 4 have to
be clinically treated for it, 2 become suicidal, 1 get hospitalized for a
month, and 41% report nightmares, head or stomach aches or worthlessness?
Why should I have to remove my child from the school and encure the costs
of home schooling? Why has this been allowed to happen for TEN YEARS.
Where are the laws? Who is protecting these innocent children?
"

12/19/2011:

"Every other year my daughter was bullied by one teacher. She had wonderful
teachers but like I said "every other year it happened with one" !
Complaining only helped with the next class to come not with us. But I
will NEVER keep my mouth shut about an adult teacher using athority over
people smaller than themselves. I have taught her to not put up with it.
If the teacher is doing her wrong she speaks up in the classroom and the
teacher backs down ! Also several schools in our area have had this
problem and the news media is being called. The bad teachers are seeing
theirselves on tv as bullying and attorney are filling charges !!!!!! Do
whatever it takes, this is somthing that will effect your childs grades
and their self-esteem forever. Put a stop to it !!!!
"

12/1/2011:

"My husband and myself had our daughter removed from her class and placed
with a teacher that our older daughter once had, You can see the changes
in our daughter and myself, there are wonderful teachers that love
teaching and making a difference in our children's lives and than there
are the ones that are like my daughters old teacher that even though my
daughter has move out of her class still finds chances to attack her and
is using her class to do her dirty work,she has even went so far to tell
her class "since I see us as "a family" I feel that I can tell you the
reason why Morgan has left our class is because she could not keep up with
our gifted class and had to be moved to a regular class". Last night I
felt so bad that my daughters old classmates (her friends) shunned her and
I made a comment to one of their parents who I happen to know but never
talked to about this situation and she said that her daughter came home
one day and said the teacher told the class that s!
ince they were a family that they should know why Morgan was removed from
their gifted class and proceeded to tell them in a way that to the
children meant that my daughter was not one of them anymore. I was
advised that because of Morgans test scores she would automatically return
next year to the gifted program because this had nothing to do with her
ability to learn as her old teacher is telling her 4th grade class. My
daughter has the ability to catch on fast and in the past was utilized by
her other teachers to help the special ed students they would bring in
their class for an hour or so, because she has patients and loves everyone
and does not let disabilities define people and that is the daughter that
I protect and continue to mold and I WILL NOT let people like this teacher
be apart of molding who my daughter will be when I am not there. My
daughter is the quite type and works hard and every time she gets a good
grade is relieved and surprised, she is not automat!
ically smart she works hard for her knowledge and I don't want!
her to have a teacher that can so easily corrupt the thoughts of
innocent children for her own purpose and trust me my daughter is not the
only child in her class that she bullies, she teaches her own daughter
(because the daughter is also gifted and the teacher is the only 4th grade
gifted teacher)but she bullies her own daughter, my daughter and other
student tell that everytime she sees her daughter put her finger in her
mouth that she makes her stand in the middle of the class and do 10
jumping jacks. I always think my daughter has me to protect her but who is
going to protect the teachers daughter? (so I during a meeting with the
school principle about my daughter I let it be known that this was
happening. The shame of it all is every child needs a protector but who is
going to protect them when it is the parent they need protection
from........
"

11/30/2011:

"Thanks for this article. So sad that there isn't more that can be done.
My kind, shy, straight-A son was bullied in the 6th grade by his teacher -
and so were many of his (also wonderful) classmates. For a long time, I
expected that he was just being sensitive to her comments and actions
until I heard similar stories from other parents. He cried after school
nearly every day. I met with the teacher. Her comment was that my son
was too sensitive and that she's "just kidding" when she says the things
she says.
We did document many instances (calling kids "losers" was top on the list)
and after the year was done, my son met with the principal to share his
story. He felt he couldn't leave the school without trying to protect the
next set of kids. Nothing came of it but he was empowered by his own
efforts to stand up to bullying.
Now he's in an amazing school where the teachers want nothing more than to
celebrate him and all other students. He's still wary, though. That
teacher really did a number on his self esteem!
It was suggested to me along the way that we request psychological testing
for my son. Though we knew he didn't need the testing, the idea was that
through the process of testing, there would be other adults in the system
that would hear his stories about this teacher and maybe some eyes would
be opened. Unfortunately, the suggestion came too late in the year to act
upon it, but I would recommend that to others who are dealing with a
teacher bully.
"

11/28/2011:

"my son 12 yrs old now, was diagnosed, with ADHD in 4 th grade it took 8
month the doctors ran alot of test, we put him on medication,my son had
been bullied the first4 yrs of school, he was the boy in the corner,When
we out him on medication he,s self esteem became much better, after all
those yrs of being bullied, he stood up for himself, i do not believe in
violence at school, but my son was attack first and he finally stood up
for himself this happen 3 times my the principal said no tolerance, Ten
this yr she did not believe my son when he said a another boy, had grab in
in the private area, i believe my son he would not say this , the
principal did not, she said she could not image the ohter boy would do
this, also she has taken my son in to here office, before and had him sign
confession with out any one being present, having him sit in her office
without lunch, she is the one that is not teaching children, that are
being bullied to come forth, thats the problem childre!
n will not because the bullies bully more, so my son is afraid to tell
now. i assured him something will be done about this, we have to be are
children biggest advocate, my son was sexually assaulted, and now the
Principal at Gilbert AZ elementary, school is not doing her Job, these are
children you are supposed to protect them at school, she is not fit to be
a principal,And i will make sure i go to her boss if that does not work i
will go to the highest level until my son gets justice' and he no,s it'
"

11/10/2011:

"Working at a school, I know that there are so many demands on teachers and
they are always getting more put upon them. It is a terribly tough job
and after seeing it firsthand, I know I wouldn't want it. Most teachers
are very caring and good at what they do, however there are some who bully
kids. At our school, there is a first grade teacher who bullies kids
unmercifully. It's as if she unloads all of her issues on those who don't
do everything right. It seems the other employees know this goes on, but
no one says anything. The problem is, many of the children at our school
have parents who are not involved in their child's education due to their
own issues...drugs, jail, broken families, poverty, etc. They are in no
position to advocate for their child. I don't know how I can, without
losing my job or the jobs of others who know the stories. This teacher
has been at the school for many years and I am relatively new on the
scene. I cannot leave my email address in !
case someone at the school reads this.
"

11/10/2011:

"Thank you for this article. I'm sure it will be very helpful to the
parent who is involved in their child's education. However, I have
another twist on the matter. I work at a school and see teachers (one
first grade teacher in particular) who bullies children. This school is
one where many parents are not involved in their child's education due to
their own problems and issues, or they just don't know how. I have
wrestled with this issue and have not come up with any respectable
solution which will help the children, and keep those of us who care in
their jobs.
"

11/9/2011:

"Yes, my son was bullied by teachers in Rowlett, TX at two different
schools. 3 teachers at the ISD, and others running an "Academy". I wish
I could go back and treat the Kindergarten teacher the way she treated my
son, because as time has progressed there is a problem with which hand he
writes with.
"

11/9/2011:

"I had a teacher in 6th grade her name was Mrs Floore she was so so mean I
could not stand her at all she is like a devil!!! When I finished going 2
her class I started Homebound it's just like homeschool only a teacher
comes 2 your house for like 2 times a week 2 teach you instead of the
parents!! I've had the same Homebound teacher ever since shes very very
sweet!!!!!
"

11/9/2011:

"I commented on 11-7 about my daughters teacher bulling her, I had a
meeting set up with the principal and the two teachers. My daughters
grades dropped and her record is showing she was late for school when she
was on time every morning. I did not think that they would go this far,
this is crazy! At the meeting I proved my case against both teachers and
my hustband demanded that our daughter was to be taken out of the gifted
class and put into regular classes. I requested that our daughter go to a
teacher my older daughter had and my daughter's teacher spoke up and said
that her and this teacher worked closely together as if to say "I still
can get to her". I believe that this teacher I requested will give my
daughter a fair chance and not judge her by her other teacher, my daughter
is only 9 years old and it makes me sick to my stomach to think that my
child has been at their mercy these last couple of months. My daughter is
not the only one child (she teacher her own child!
and does this to her to) but I keep asking myself "why her" she is realy
a lovable little girl that always brought flowers every morning from my
garden to her teachers just because she wants to make them happy. but not
these two teachers. there are signs, sometimes it takes us a little longer
to see them and once you do it seems that everything just starts falling
into place.
"

11/9/2011:

"I understand that teachers are under enormous stress and pressure, but
like a parent at the end of their rope, they need to let others help. Many
times parents are just waiting for the invitation to volunteer in the
classroom and help out any way that they can. If an educator is feeling
overwhelmed, they should reach out for help.
"

11/8/2011:

"Publishing this article isn't insulting educators but providing parents
with information about situations that occur and how they might be
handled. My kids have not been bullied by teachers, but I have no doubt
that it occurs. I witnessed in my own education. A niece and nephew had
a bully teacher in 3rd grade. He would pick a student or two each year to
pick on. My nephew, a popular, good-natured kid who is now an adult, said
that in his class, the target was a kid who stuttered. One kid who was
bullied in my grade was mentally slow.
"

11/7/2011:

"Well I find it offensive that teachers and administrators would even
complain that information is being given to parents about some of the
teachers and administrators who do bully and abuse students. Sorry but you
do not all walk on water! I have 5 children and every single one has been
either physically or verbally abused by a teacher or administrator or
both. Only one of my children has Autism. This made him an easy target for
the Teacher and Administrator abusers out there. The other 4 children have
IQs over 140 and were excellent students. This does not stop an abuser.
For those teachers who feel like they have to put up with too much and
that is their excuse for abusing children, I say if it is too hot in the
kitchen that you cannot control yourself get out of the kitchen. Yes, my
children did have some excellent teachers and administrators and they
received our support financial and any other way we could help them out.
But trust me the ones that abused our children w!
e went after legally and won. So, parents support all good teacher or
administrator you come across but work like ever to get rid of the abusers
in the school system. That way everyone wins.
"

11/7/2011:

"Yes, bulling start with teachers sometimes. I have seen teachers in
classrooms picking on one of the children, making a rude comment about the
child he hates, then he left the classroom, to go gossiping in the office
while kids were attacking the child victim of the teacher. That kid was my
son. It happens many times until I saw it. I pulled my son from the school
that week. Complaining to the principal is useless because people are a
reflection of their supervisor. They do what they are allowed to do.
"

11/7/2011:

"interesting that some teachers became offended ands removed themselves
from the emailing list. Why? If it wasnt a real problem, there wouldnt be
so many "real" comments about it!
When I was in 6th grade, I was an all A student, never talked out of turn
in class, never got in trouble. There was a poster contest for the library
and I told my teacher that I would like to put in an entry, he stated,
"girls are not smart, you will not win".
I did, in fact win, but that unnecessarily negative comment stayed with me
decades later.
The truth is that teachers are human too, and make mistakes, and that this
VERY REAL problem should be addressed!
"

11/7/2011:

"this can be used at any establishment where there is a bully
"

11/7/2011:

"Sad to read how Great Schools is wooing advertising like the Online
schools by ginning up hatred agains public schools. Your Bully Teacher
piece is typical of this bilge. You really seem to be more concerned with
generating revenue than telling the truth. Shame on you Great Schools is
Poor Journalism.
"

11/7/2011:

"Reading the comment from a teacher about how this website "disgusted" her
really just says it all about the attitude of some teachers today. When my
daughter was being bullied by a teacher we went to the superintendent -
with proof - and were told what a good teacher she was and that the
superintendent had personally "hired her and given her tenure...." When
my kids began school I really did put teachers on a pedestal, and some
still deserve that treatment. However, there are too many bad ones out
there hiding behind the unions, miserable in their jobs, and just there to
collect a paycheck, nothing more. Parents should be very diligent in
advocating for their children.
"

11/7/2011:

"Would it be wonderful to tell of the wonderful teachers in my children's
and my life but although I do let those know how much I appreciate them
they are not an issue.
I am in the process of ending the bullying of a teacher by going outside
the school. Not fun, but enough is enough! My youngest child will not go
to this school next year as I will not put up with this teacher having
access to another of my children.
"

11/7/2011:

"There are many good teachers in the system. It seems unfair that a few bad
apples can put a whole community askew. My son is only in fourth grade and
he has already had 2 teachers, who in my opinion, need another line of
work. To put it nicely. One teacher was bullying the students and even had
the nerve to try and bully me and publicly humiliate me. I had to have my
son moved into a different class. The principal was denying the teachers
bullying, even though other students and parents were complaining. She
even tried to convince me the teachers bullying and humiliation of me was
misunderstood. Even though there were plenty of witnesses. Bullying
between students, staff and parents is unacceptable. No matter who does
the bullying. There should be rules and consequences for those put in
charge of our children as well. But, I would also like to say there are
top notch teachers who go above their duty to teach,help, protect and care
for our children. Find these teachers and wr!
ite about them just as often! They deserve their goodness to be praised
and acknowledged!!!!!!!
"

11/7/2011:

"Great article! My sons 1st grade teacher was a bully, always yelling at
the kids. I volunteered in her class and saw it first hand. Her eyes were
always red, I wondered if she was on druds. I talk to the principil who
defended her. Then I went to the school districts main office where I was
told there's not much they could do because of something called tenure?
So, now I homeschool and we LOVE it! It's truly a peace of mind!
"

11/7/2011:

"It amazes me how many teachers comments were hateful and negative about
this article. Do you really think kids are the only bullies? That some
bullies just outgrow bad behavior. There are good and bad in any
profession and in any age group. Being a teacher doesn't automatically
make you a good person. I do think the number of good outweighs the bad in
the case of teachers but that doesn't mean they are all exceptional.
Teachers are people too, with good and bad days, and good and bad
behavior. Sweeping a bad teacher under the rug so as not to sully all
teachers name's isn't the answer. School boards need to make teachers just
as accountable for their actions as students. One bad teacher gives the
rest a bad name. Acknowledging a problem is always better than pretending
it's not there.
"

11/7/2011:

"Thank you for covering this topic. My child was bullied by her 2nd grade
teacher, although she has thankfully, recovered from the worst effects, I
am still recovering. It truly was a very traumatic time for us as a
family. Teachers are human beings, not all are bad and not all are good.
To pretend it does not happen is to suggest that we believe teachers are
not from the real world.
"

11/7/2011:

"What about BULLYING ADMINISTRATORS! Teachers are forced to work with
unattentive, disinterested, slave-driving, inept, dishonest principals,
who by the way treat teachers the exact way a bullied child is treated.
It forced me to quit teaching and start my own education business. I
could not deal with the offensive, lazy, lying administration any more.
"

11/7/2011:

"My 4th grade daughter is going through the same thing. My daughters
teacher was nice to my face and than I realize it was a mask to hide the
bulling she has been doing in class. right now I have a meeting set up to
confront both of her teachers. it is not right that my daughter is so
scared to miss an answer or her teacher will call her up in front of the
class and shame her and other classmates or take her out in the hall and
scream at her because she did not understand the work and asked for help.
this same teacher just told me that non of her other parents show their
kids attention and I needed to stop because that was favortisim on my part
and I needed to stop walking my daughter to class and leave her in her
hands to mold, I asked her when have I ever walked my daughter to class
because my daughter is a car rider and I drop her off at the car rider
ares to one of five teachers to see her into the school. at this meeting I
am telling them I want my daughter removed from !
this class. which I already talked to the principle and she told me that
her teacher is the only gifted teacher for the forth grade and for my
daughter to change would mean my daughter would have to be demoted to a
regular class and I should'nt do that to my daughter, sooooo what I should
leave her with this teacher to bully! I can only think how bad she will be
after our meeting this week. did I mention this teacher has her daughter
in her class as well and if she puts her fingers in her mouth she makes
her do 10 jumping jacks in the middle of the classroom, my daughter says
that the teachers little girl says she hates being in her mothers class.
"

11/4/2011:

"The only real advocate your child has is an attentive parent. Most
teachers and administrators must focus on a broader spectrum of details
surrounding the school environment. Therefore, it is imperative that
parents keep open and thorough communication ongoing with their child and
the teacher/administrator. With that said, there will be times when your
child would profit more from relocation.
"

11/3/2011:

"My son was bullied by his 4th grade teacher this past school year. If you
did the work wrong she would announce it out loud to the whole class. She
took Easter candy out of his sack lunch and told him you cant that it's
not Brain Food! My son was scared of her. Bully teachers do exist!! So
far this year he has a wonderful caring teacher at a new school.
"

11/2/2011:

"I would encourage you to write more about how teachers can deal with a
bully principal. I relocated and took a position as a science department
chair, over the objections of the new principal. She proceeded to make my
life miserable. She wanted to hand-pick her department heads and resented
those of us who had strong academic backgrounds. She came from the
physical education department and supported the sports but only if she
agreed with the coaching.
For 8 months she publicly belittled me, making multiple additional
assignments that the union representative took to the board - for both
myself and another department chair. She ridiculed me in front of
students, parents and other teachers, as well as daily observations with
pages of criticism. After 8 months, I resigned.
A year and a half later she was removed, but by then 25% of the teachers,
many with tenure, either took early retirement or transferred. The union
had to hire a lawyer and take the case to court.
"

11/1/2011:

"In regards to teachers, there are MANY wonderful teachers out there, not
getting enough pay, and doing an absolutely great job! My experience was
with one teacher only. I just want to clarify that there are other career
options for people who don't fit the position.
"

11/1/2011:

"My daughter in 3rd grade came home very beat down. Having loved all of her
teachers until this point, she wasn't sure what to do with a teacher who
"seemed" to hate her. When someone got an F on an assignment she would
announce from her desk to the entire class "Come get your F". This is
unacceptable behavior from an adult especially when your job is to help
children love to learn. This was not an environment that promoted a love
for learning and building confidence. There are many career choices
available to people that don't involve people, let alone little children.
She would be better suited with people her own size, who can stand up for
themselves. I pulled my daughter 8 weeks into the school year and
homeschooled her. It was ruff for both of us but she made it.
"

11/1/2011:

"I could write a book but I will do my best to keep this short. I was a
normal and happy child until I reached 4th grade in 1974. I went to a
Catholic school and my 4th grade teacher physically and emotionally abused
me EVERY day. The worst part is that she made a game of the other kids
making fun of me (some had been my best friends since early childhood).
She told me I was stupid, she would call on me when my hand wasn't raised
and not call on me when it was. Left my papers and artwork off the wall
(only mine). My parents did what they could do and by Christmas of that
year I was transfered to another class. By then the damage was done. She
had her little posse of other teachers who made sur that this continued
all the way through 8th grade year. I had no friends. I was smacked on
the head with a note book in front of the entire class because I didn't
take the right notes. It escalated to the point that I missed 28 days of
school. They called my mother and told me!
I was a faker and that she should stay in the room while she took my
temperature. The only classes I failed or recieved a D in were the
classes of the teachers that we part of her little posse. I don't believe
someone saying that their life was "ruined" because their dad was abusive
or what ever other growning up problems they had as an excuse for any poor
behavior. But because of that teacher I have never been the same. She
took away a part of me that I will never get back. To this day I have
horrible self-esteem problems. I think my parents did the best that they
could do at that time. It is intimidating to sit across the desk from a
nun who could care less what you have to say or what you feel. I was
called to her office many times for no reason. This was truly life
changing and has effected me emotionally. I have told my children to
respect their teachers at all times but to come to me immediately if there
is a problem. I have also told them that if another !
child (I was made fun of EVERY day)was mean to them that I wou!
ld help them through but if I ever found out that they had been mean to
another child I would tell them my story and I believe they would never do
it again. Thankfully I have 3 beautiful children who actually step in and
stop a child who is being bullied. It has been 32 years and it still
feels like yesterday. More has to be said about this so that no other
child has to go through what I have. So they never lose part of themselves
that they can never get back like I did.
"

11/1/2011:

"I have a dilemma;
Last week, the grandson of my daughter's 2nd. grade teacher pushed my
daughter and hurt her.. It was an accident. But when I questioned the
teacher, she immediately defended her grandson and said my daughter has
been causing lot's of problems in the class and in the playground. And
even brought lot's of other issues from last year.
Well, Up until the boy put his hands on my daughter, my girl was an
example of a student. she always is rewarded for helping other kids and
appraise all the time.
Last year she was not even my kid's teacher.
I volunteer at school once or twice a wk. I always ask about my child
behavior... and like I said until last week there's was no problem.
I felt like the teacher is acting as a grandma instead of being a teacher.
I brought this issue to the principal attention and he offered me to
switch my kid to another class.
I'm very disappointed and don't know what else to do. could you please
advised me.
Thank you,
Nidia Bernal
"

11/1/2011:

"Bullying and other forms of abuse are merely symtoms of our materialistic
society that values wealth, possessions and competition over
relationships, community and cooperation. Bullying occures in the work
place, in the home and of course, in our schools. There are 2 basic
reasons why children misbehave in school: 1. to escape 2. for attention
There are bad parents, teachers, lawyers, executives, bosses..oh and of
course - politicians. If you want to start a witch hunt, I suggest that
we start with the big and powerful abusers before we work our way down to
the easy targets, namely teachers.
"

11/1/2011:

"My son is being bully from students and teachers. He is no angle but I'm
understanding now why he is having a hard time in school-- what should I
do "

11/1/2011:

"Yes. Some teachers take personal things at home to work. Some teachers
would never smile or greet parents. It is unfortunate but it happens.
"

11/1/2011:

"my son was bullied by his 3rd grade teacher. a police officer at my older
sons high school is the one that made the connection after my child walked
from his southside school to my northside business. he talked with my
elementary aged son and told me he was being bullied. i was surprised to
find out it was the teacher a couple of weeks later. i was outside her
classroom and heard her bullying another child. the principal at the
school overlooked what her teachers did.
"

11/1/2011:

"Its funny how you can tell who the teachers are that wrote comments on
here, they are the ones blaming the kids and the parents and defending the
teachers actions. Yes there are many wonderful teachers, then there are a
lot of incompetent and psychotic people out there teaching that should be
fired but wont because they back and cover for each other and your
complaints will be ignored. The whole system is disgustingly corrupt and
tax payers are screwed.
"

11/1/2011:

"My 8yr old daughter is in 2nd grade. Her teacher yells at her saying
"disapointed in her" when she doesn't follow directions. I just don't like
that. As a daycare provider, that was one of the "No No's" we are taught
never to say to a child. Then they will feel like a disapointment.
Expecially in 2nd grade when they are trying so hard to be perfect. She
went bullistic when my daughter didn't turn her paper over to the correct
side in class when she asked the class twice to do so. When she hounded
my daughter as to why she didn't turn over her paper, my daughter replied,
" I thought you were talking to the rest of the class and that my paper
was turned over to the right side". The teacher deamed this as my child
having way too much self confidence. All she had to do was turn over her
paper for her. The teacher used to teach 6th graders. 2nd grader don't
think the same. This teacher acted as thought my daughter was not
following directions to annoy her on purpose. I do!
n't think this teacher is used to being around 7-8 yr olds and needs to
brush up on how THEY learn, and how THEIR brain works. I'm sure this
teacher is doing her upmost to get these children to learn. I just thing
she needs new strategies for 2nd graders.
"

11/1/2011:

"I am 69 years old and attended school when it was common for adults in
general to treat children abusively whenever they felt frustrated. Child
Abuse Laws were eventually enacted to protect children from abusive
adults. However, much more needs to be done to change the culturally
ingrained attitudes and behaviors of our competitive and aggressive
society. I like the ideas in this article because they point to the fact
that no one has to become a victim and no one has to get revenge...setting
boundaries and having options works!
"

10/31/2011:

"did the author approach any of these teachers for comment? since you print
the parent's name, dozens of people now know the teacher. maybe i missed
the fair questioning of the teacher. if you did not give that teacher a
chance to respond you brole a fair journalism rule.
"

10/31/2011:

"Who's picture is that anyway. Is it the author? If so she did a great job
acting. I hope this web site did not actually pay a model to pose.
I hope in your next 'issue' you show a candid photo of a loving teacher
actually doing what thousands of teahcers do each day.
But you won't. No sensationalism there.
"

10/31/2011:

"What nonsense. Did you ever think of asking your face bookers to report on
great teachers. No! Didn't think so.
The trend these days is to criticize teachers as often as possible.
There are reasons for this.
Ignorant people actually believe teachers only 'work to three' and do not
rezlize that most teachers either take classes during the summer or work a
second job. Plenty of envy there.
Also, it is much easier to blame teachers than parents for children's
behavior, lack of success. A politician can speak out against teachers and
risk loosing a few thousand votes. But if a politician criticizes parents
they would never be reelected. Same with the media. You would not beleve
what is printed in the imition newpaper we have down here in Port St
Lucie, FL. Seems like the editors are trying to earn Pulitzers at teacher
expense - and loosing no readers at all.
Then of course there are parents who did not teach their children behavior
strategies or social skills, who did not sit down and read a book with
their children - who were to bosu sitting in the with Uncle Joe (Aunt
Josie) blowing joints while their kids were watching semi porn and Jerry
Springer on the tube. Why not blame teachers who to their minds are making
too much and should take the blame they will not give themselves.
Its a sad situation. And this web site should be ashamed.
If you do not know how hard teachers work - well, I guess ignorance is
bliss.
"

10/31/2011:

"Tourtured? There are some teachers out there who I would fire in ten
minutes. But teh GREAT majority of teachers are fantastic. There are more
bullying parents out there than there are teachers. I would wager that
half of the anti - teachers who responded to these horrendous articles
have children who have behavior issues.
"

10/31/2011:

"Poorly written article - no documentation - a posed photo meant to do
what? 'get parents thinking.
This is another attempt to smear teachers. This article and the others are
examples of teacher 'critiques' who could not spend ten minutes in a
classroom without leaping from a window.
Don't spread fear amongst you readers.
Also, your mention of the teacher who repented in tne next articvle -
again without substance - is ludicrous.
Parents? Do you disagree with me? If take a tour of your child's school.
Stop reading this bullying rag. If you do they will have nine readers
instead of ten - I'm cancelling so they have eight readers.
"

10/31/2011:

"My son was tortured by his 5th grade teacher- she was from military and
she let all her students know that she was tough. Some of the kids in her
class threw up after school they were so scared. She tortured my son
beyond belief. He also started to torture me- why do one when you can
drag a mom in to?? It was a horrible year that I did everything possible
to help my son. Yes the principle was supportive- talked me into keeping
Zach in the class but really did nothing- she believed the teacher who was
also a lier and put on a different personality in front of superiors. It
took my son and I over a year to recover from the abuse. We still have
moments. I advise any parent to take there child out of the class ASAP.
The damage can never really be undone. Why put your child and your family
threw it?????? He could have gotten any other teacher and had a great
year.
"

10/31/2011:

"Oh this story looks exactly like what I went through recently. I moved my
daughter from private school to public school this year. Turns out, my
daughter's teacher was a bully - picking on her for no reason, yelling at
her, saying mean things, making faces etc. My daughter coming from private
school environment couldn't take this mean behavior, and started
complaining. I initially thought it could be that she is trying to adjust
to her new environment, I encouraged her to talk to her teacher. I even
sent couple of emails to the teacher, asking her for help with my
daughter's transition from private school environment to public school.
The meanie teacher did not reply to any of my emails, that made me think
about my daughter's complaints. Every day when I picked up my daughter,
she would tell how her teacher was mean to her that day, and also
sometimes mean to few other kids. She even cried a couple of times. I took
this issue to the principal. As expected he defended the tea!
cher (who is been teaching for the last few decades). I threatened to
take the issue to the media and/or to higher officials. That made him
agree to move my daughter into another class. Even though my daughter is
been saved from everyday bullying, the mean teacher continues to be mean
to her whenever possible - like in the assemblies, joint PE sessions etc.
I'm so helpless, it is so sad, our education system is designed such a way
that it is very difficult to handle bullies more so when the bully is a
teacher!
"

10/31/2011:

"Ugh, I guess I missed the first article. I had a math teacher bully me in
that female relational-aggression way until she'd reduced my math skills
to where I was in 3rd grade. To this day I have no idea why she picked me
-- I was an A student with math scores in the 99th percentile. But she
told me I was stupid, until I actually was. I was tracked out of math and
science for life.
"

10/31/2011:

"Most teachers go into education because they truly want to make a
difference in the lives of children, then amnesia sets in as increasing
demands are placed on students and teachers. After being blessed as
Disney's Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2005, I learned 5
Strategies that transformed my life at school and at home. This work was
so powerful I committed to doing it full time. It is amazing personal,
professional and organizational development al wrapped into one. When we
change our language and our lens, we change our lives and those around us.
I encourage you to check out www.virtuesproject.org "

10/31/2011:

"My sons 3rd grade teacher was a horrible bully. I spoke with her numerous
times, all ended with her blaming my son and his ADHD or her opinion of my
parenting. I came to find out from other parents, classmates, as well as
previous students and their parents that she is (and apparently as a
teacher always has been) a bully. I spoke with the Principal only once. He
was not receptive and told me that I was off base and looking to start a
fight. My son begged me every day, starting the 3rd day of school, to
please be home schooled. I explained to him that sadly there are people
like her whom he will be encountering all throughout his life. Sadly
though the situation was Not ideal, he learned ways to deal with her. He
had our full permission to leave the classroom and the situation if he
ever felt it was too intense. We told him not to be scared of being in
trouble, and if anything ever happened to get up, go to the office and
tell them to call his mother, and from there I would !
deal with it. Thankfully, things did not escalate to the point where he
felt he had to walk out. About half way through the school year I had a
verbal altercation with the teacher when my son had forgotten a book and I
followed him to his classroom to get it. As I waited outside the door for
him, she had the nerve to tell him that if he wasn't so stupid he wouldn't
have forgotten it in the first place. By this time I had enough and sent
my child out of the room. I am not proud to say that I gave her a taste of
her own medicine, but apparently it did the job. She was still prone to
yelling, but according to the kids, it became more in general rather than
singling out a child. Thankfully when my son went into 4th grade, he had
an amazing teacher and came to love school once again.
"

10/31/2011:

"I am very disappointed with this site for having presented this article.
As a teacher, I recommend this site to all of my parents and other staff
members. However, after this article and the bias you have presented, I
will be removing my subscription and NEVER recommending this again.
Teachers are natural nurturers and caregivers. You are talking about a
tiny population in this article. I feel that you merely used this headline
to increase a "certain type of parent" to subscribe. So disappointing.
"

10/31/2011:

"There are all kinds of School Employed BULLIES. Our daughter's guidance
consoler, this person bullies in ways of keeping our daughter from
succeeding, this person does not have our daughter's best interest. We
have been unable to obtain the necessary educational classes for college
acceptance. This person has kept our daughter from taking advanced studies
that she has been previous test for, has manipulated her school schedule
to complicate proper placement. We have emailed, documented and saved all
the correspondence between parties involved for future attachment to
college applications. This consoler has family within the upper tier of
the Superintendent level, job secured and enough said. We have emailed the
principal, called and left messages with the Superintendent and even sent
a letter to Barack Obama (our school concerned president), never resolved.
"

10/31/2011:

"Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!! I have been dealing with this! Great
article!
This is so true!
"

10/31/2011:

"My sons teacher screamed all the time and told students they were stupid.I
went to the school and this teacher was so full of himself I almost lost
my manners.I had my son removed from his class and I reported him to the
headmaster. Once I saw the headmaster did not care, I reported bothof them
to the school board.
"

10/31/2011:

"My son too had a "bullying" teacher when he was a senior in high school.
Another student, a friend of his confirmed this teachers treatment of him.
Luckily we had an outstanding assistant principal and counselor who came
to his aid...to a degree. You never want to hear from the AP or the
counselor that, "we understand what you are saying and we won't let her
fail him." This is almost an admission that she is a problem. We believe
it started due to moral issues. We did not want him to watch a rated R
movie she wanted to show the class, a version of Macbeth.
"

10/31/2011:

"teachers who bully have "control" issues and they don't teach much subject
matter. they are too busy handing out their brand of "discipline" which is
very punitive or abusive.
"

10/31/2011:

"My son is 11 this yr and after yrs at a school he loved we had to
transfer. He likes the news school but everyday its something about his
science teacher. My son has never been to the priciples office before but
if 5 weeks has been 2xs and in detention...all from this man...he is a
coach who raises his voice. I watched him ask a child a question and when
she tried to answer he yelled over her and cut her so he could yell at the
answer she didn't even have time to give...in front of the principle and
counselor who said nothing. He demanded my child be suspended because he
had an extra science book in his locker. My son has 2 science assignments
a night and went from an all a-b student just weeks ago at the old school
to an F in this class...I'm upset and worried but the counselor and
principle just keep saying "he'll be ok. He is adjusting" I don't believe
my son can adjust to this teacher who yells and has them taking notes all
class and doesn't seem to be teaching him anyt!
hing because all the actual work I do with him at home. Also last week he
had so many students in detention for having 3 zeros that week (the work
load is crazy they can't get it all done and learn it) that he had to have
his own detention bc there were to many (over 30 out of 125 students).
Trying to get thru it and stay calm for my son bc I know if I go in "guns
blazing" I can make it much worse. Its scary because in 5 weeks he went
from a child who loves school and couldn't wait to go to science class to
a child wh begs not to have to go at all because of this man
"

10/31/2011:

"Passing this one along to friends who have children who have been bullied
by teachers. Sad to hear that it's going on elsewhere.
"

10/31/2011:

"As a parent of four children, I can tell you very honestly that my
children have been bullied by teachers far more often than by other
students. Additionally, when there were occasions when they needed a
teacher's support regarding bullying....it was seldom provided. Just
awful!
"

10/31/2011:

"I am sure as counsellor that bully teachers do exist in schools and many a
times show that they are serious about child's academic progress. But the
problem does not end there. We have to train- train and train them to
understand the psyche of child and to understand the damage possible by '
bully teacher'. Mere seniority does not make a person wiser or knowledged.
I am aware here in India we get teachers, specially in private state board
schools, without any kind of training because either the schools not able
to afford or trained teachers are not available . I had read ," Good
teachers cost more , but bad teachers are costlier because they damage
lives of many kids" So I thank 'Great Schools' to bring up this issue.I
will be more than happy to join hands with 'Great Schools' for this cause.
Dr Rajesh Sharma, Principal , Calorx Public School, Savita Nagar, Rajula,
Amreli, Gujarat, India. PIN- 365560 "

10/31/2011:

"There are teacher-bullies that need to be taken out of the classroom.
However, I am obliged to note that in college I was often a target that
was meant in humor and I took it as such. I recall, with endearment, the
history prof who took the risk of starting class with a moderately stupid
comment and expanding on the claims until a student challenged him. I was
often the one who ventured to challenge him. He conceded the argument by
saying: Can you believe that's a woman arguing with me. While my body
swelled with pride, others became insensed. I knew I had won. (Okay,
this was 40 years ago.) I greatly appreciated his playing ignorant for
the cause of engaging students and I was totally unconcerned about his
method of admitting he'd lost the argument. I would never want to
discourage teachers making fools of themselves in the name of being
considered abusive. That's all.
"

10/31/2011:

"This is a great article, and one that needs more focus. We have been in
the situation of bully teachers and it is very traumatic for the kids.
Fortunately, at least of the teachers did not have her contract renewed.
"

10/31/2011:

"When we moved to a new state, we were excited about our boys going to
their new elementary school -- until it became apparent that there was
adult bullying on many levels at this school -- from the top to the
bottom. The principal was a consistent "screamer", a PE teacher called
the students "retards" and the janitor -- in front of a room of parents
manning a "cultural lunch" screamed "Be quiet!!" to the students (I went
over to this person and told that his behavior was inappropriate and rude
-- but none of the other parents said a thing). Another time during a
book selling fund-raiser, the librarian berated and shamed a student to
the point where I finally said "Stop -- it's enough -- I know what you're
trying to do but you've gone to far." None of the other parents said a
thing until one took me aside in the parking lot and said "Thank you for
saying something." and I said "If this is what's going on in front of us
imagine what's going on when parents aren't there." !
And there were many examples where teachers were bullying one of our
sons. We talked with the administrators, we documented -- we copied the
superintendent. The bullying behavior continued. We finally wrote a
letter stating that we were not trying to change the culture of this
school but we were at the point where we were going to insist on how the
school talked to OUR sons -- and if the bullying behavior didn't stop
immediately -- we would file a complaint with the State. It stopped.
"

10/31/2011:

"I find this site disgusting. So many articles are about "bad" teachers,
"mean" teachers, "so-so" teachers.....how about bad parents? How about
understanding that with the testing climate, overcrowded classrooms, adhd,
autism, oppositional defiance disorder,etc... that teachers are under
extreme pressure. Kids want to be entertained, constantly rewarded
regardless of doing anything to be rewarded for, have undivided attention.
Why don't you interview some real teachers and administrators and do an
article on what we have to deal with on a constant basis.
"

10/31/2011:

"What do you do if the bully is a school security guard?
"

10/31/2011:

"I sympathize with Eubank and her son. Yet I would say, do not be so quick
at judging the school system. Often teachers get bullied by the students
and parents. Being in the school system myself, very often I have some
across where parents instead of disciplining their child/ren will come and
blame the school.
"

10/31/2011:

"About my healing journey after being a child bullied by a teacher..
http://mcmeekan.net/art/wmrab/
May we someday change our values as a society so our schools become
transformed into such a safe, healing space that NO child is ever bullied.
"

10/31/2011:

"Boy, does this topic hit a chord! My son had an abusive 2nd grade teacher.
She yelled at him and ridiculed him in class, on a daily basis. Normally a
happy, outgoing child, he became withdrawn and depressed. He even ran out
of the classroom one day and to our house! We went through the chain of
command, meeting with her first. Nothing changed. According to parent
volunteers in the classroom, my son was not disruptive. He also was the
top reader in class and had high grades. It seemed she just didn't like
him, so he was the target of her bullying. So, I began documenting
EVERYTHING! I compiled a case for putting in another class. The Principal
was rude and reluctant, but he honored our wishes. We had no problems for
the rest of the year! (Jan 3rd.-June 6th). Unfortunately, by fighting for
what was right, we were branded. From that point forward, my sons', and
our family, were bullied by other teachers, yard supervisors, office
staff, AND THE PRINCIPAL! Then the other students!
picked up on all this negativity and thay began bullying my kids. It was
a nightmare. We removed our kids from the school and put them in private
school (an extreme hardship). We could have gone to another school in the
district, but it is small, and we were afraid the abuse would follow. We
had to get counseling and the scars are still with us. It was such a
painful experience. Especially after all the hours we donated to the
school and the support we provided to the teachers. I am a teacher, so I
am well-aware of how all of this can play-out. It isn't right. There is a
fine line when it comes to being an advocate for your kids. It can resolve
the problem or make it worse. Which in our case, it was the latter.
"

10/31/2011:

"My daughter had a teacher that was a bully when she was in the fourth grade.
This teacher was slapping my daughter in the face with a folder everyday in
class because my daughter was Ã¢â‚¬Å“quietÃ¢â‚¬Â�.
I complained but the Principal denied any wrong doing, in fact she even lied
about the whole deal.
I formally des enrolled my daughter from that school and started home
schooling her.
The police came to my job to deliver a letter from the Superintendent
stating that they were not going to recognize my written des enrollment and
charges were pending against me.
I hired an Attorney and sent the school another des enrollment by registered
mail, the school refused to accept my registered letter, in the meantime my
Attorney sent faxed complaints to the School, Governor, Department of
Education, State and Federal Representatives, and the Police Department that
had delivered the letter from the Superintendent.
The day the faxes were sent the school was begging to des enroll my daughter
and forget about any charges against me.
That was 6 years ago, now my daughter is in another school and is a straight
A student and future Valedictorian.
It is true that some teachers can be bullies and abusers.
The teacher that abused my daughter was fired but for other reasons.
"

10/31/2011:

"How about an article on Principals who bully both kids and teachers?
"

10/31/2011:

"Teachers bully students because they lack experience, childhood problems
they couldn't overcome or heal, and they know they can get away it. The
student's file gets red flagged when the parents complaint. Sometimes they
go to far as was the case with my daughter. I finally had to threathen the
school board. They fight you! Check out Youtube ""jail or toe tag"
"

10/31/2011:

"I am a parent of a child who mostly witnessed adult bullying of other kids
in a charter school that I enrolled him in ( for one year only). Just
like the parent in your article it was pretty, seemed progressive and they
spoke as if they had covered all the bases of teaching and caring for
children - it turned out to be a purposeful, community wide ploy. It
was not one teacher, it was a schoolwide theology that I would later learn
the Founder/CEO termed "behavior management model". I now homeschool my
middleschooler as a result of that experience.
Because it is so difficult to believe many parents chalked up their
children's accounts saying "well you must have done something really bad
if that happened" or "well what did you do to make her/him say/do that?"
The hardest part about addressing adult bullying during that year was
actually getting the parents on board. I took to being in school at least
4 days a week at unpredictable times and having a wonderful rapport with
kids from all grades. By my doing that it made it near impossible for
anyone to mistreat my child and I got to hear and see things first hand
and or fresh after its occurrence. I started actively calling parents
and telling them what I witnessed. They would always end up calling me
back to tell me that the school reported the same incident horribly
different - to the detriment of the child. Unfortunately the behavior
labeled as bullying in this article is being taught, supported, even
demanded from the new breed of education Czars. Even if y!
ou are a teacher that knows better, without the benefit of Union
involvement, or at least a unified administrative response you have decide
on whether to have a job tomorrow, or fall in line...
Thanks very much for this article. For those reading please be aware this
is not a geographically isolated story.
"

10/31/2011:

"When my son was in 5th grade he was in a gifted class and the teacher was
a bully (and an egomaniac). After almost an entire year of her
unprofessional behavior I got an education advocate involved and set up a
504 plan, much to her displeasure. If you don't know what an education
advocate is, you should find out. It was the best money I ever spent. My
son is now at a charter school, no bullies, just kind and respectful
teachers. Thank God.
"

10/31/2011:

"Had Enough,
The school districts have gone too far in abandoning children and their
safety in schools-from the top of the District Administration levels to
the bottom, the education system has seemed to have collapsed upon itself
in a very terrible way, leaving children and their families victims to
their unsafe and dangerous self- imposed practices and policies which they
govern themselves with.
I have taken the matters mentioned here to the top of my state and the US
levels. The education system has in my opinion collapsed in a very bad way
and failed families around the country everywhere.
"

10/31/2011:

"I was wondering...would it had helped if mom did a surprise pop up class
visit? I have an eleventh grader and a pre-k child. My kids nor the
teacher/school never knows when I may appear. No child can focus when they
are stressed. They simply can't focus. Then there's the board of education
when you can't get results.
"

10/31/2011:

"It is still legal in 19 of our 50 states for teachers to beat children
with wooden boards in school. I live in North Carolina, where parents have
not even had the right to opt out of such abuse. It has been my experience
living in such a culture that when school boards allow teachers to hit
children, other forms of bullying become mainstream. The entire culture
needs to be challenged when child abuse is legal among licensed
professional educators.
"

10/31/2011:

"Mrs. Grimm, my oldest son's third grade teacher, was grim all right. By
mid-year, half of the students had transferred out of her class. My kid
learned that if he was perfect, he might ear 35 points in one school day.
Meanwhile, penalties for any infraction cost him that much. He and another
kid started competing for who had the highest points - negative points,
that is. My younger son has an effective math teacher. By humiliating one
kid in the class, she guarantees cooperation from the remaining kids. Last
year, he was in the middle level class and he was flunking. When she found
out he was GATE, she insisted he be moved to the higher level course as a
matter of his rights. This year, she is assigned to the higher level
class. He's doing better than he did in her mid-level class last year, but
not as well as he might. Now she insists he be moved to the easier class.
My kid is scared of her and learned last year not to bother trying.
"

10/31/2011:

"I believe this is more wide spread. My son is in one of the best school
district in the nation (Fairfax County) and he was bullied by his art
teacher. I put an immediate stop to it, even caught the teacher in a bold
face lie, and had my son removed from his class forever. The most
despicable act that he did to my son, who had dexterity issues with
writing, cutting, etc. took my son's work and held it up in front of the
entire class and asked the students if it was correct. He completely
humiliated my son in front of all of his peers! In the meeting with the
Principal, teacher, counselor, I called him out on this and said you
never, ever, use a students work as a bad example in front of that student
and his peers. There were numerous other instances such as making him sit
at a table by himself every day to punish him before class started. I
actually attend the class one day and couldn't believe they let someone
like him teach children at all. I hope the birth of his child wil!
l open his eyes to how much harm he has inflicted on my son when he
realizes how his actions harm the children he "teaches." Believe your
children and ALWAYS investigate!!
"

10/31/2011:

"I had the same problem in snellville.ga at a middle school with my
daughter teacher. We had a meeting with the teachers and when that didn't
make a different , Next I talk to the principle and ask to remove my child
from that team and if she would not do that.my next step was to go to the
school broad and report the teachers and principle. That's the last thing
they to hear from parents that care about they kids education.
"

10/31/2011:

"As a seasoned educator, who consistently sees the devastating effects of
parents NOT having children accept responsibility(nor accept
responsibility themselves), I was furious when I saw the title of this
article! Ugh, I thought. Now we're bullying. But let me commend you. This
article was intricate, well researched, well reasoned, timely, and
balanced. I have witnessed bully teachers and bully supervisors over the
years. They are insidious. As a professional developer, I now witness
bullying colleagues (and endure them). I think you've raised a valid
point. The fact is, in ALL walks of life there are adult bullies; and we
have the opportunity to experience it in every realm--from driving in
traffic to rude cashiers or fellow customers, to domestic violence and
beyond. As the anti bullying campaign matures, hopefully the movement will
cause us a movement toward true civility. That will be a hard sell, since
the reality tv culture, (inspired by Jerry Springer) sells inciv!
ility, big time, as entertainment.
Well done.
"

10/31/2011:

"My son was bullied by his first grade teacher. He suffered PTSD because of
her. He suffers from migraines and she would not let him go to the nurse
to get his medication. We are now with caring and great teachers. We had
to hire an attorney, but she is still teaching! We do need to keep an eye
open for bullies like her!
"

10/31/2011:

"My son had a similar problem in 2nd grade. His teacher was a mean bully
but no one did anything about it because she was selective with her
tactics ... only picking on one or two children every year and always
having a convenient excuse which would make it look like it was really the
child's problem and not her. Of course eventually her negative tactics had
results too as the children she picked on really couldn't concentrate and
really did stop performing well because they were afraid of her. The
school did nothing! This teacher got away with it because schools figure
percentage wise that every class room will have underperformers and kids
w/attitude or attention problems ... and this sicko took advantage of
that. Automatically the school will take the side of the teacher and view
the parent as simply defending their own child. But this bullying has long
term affects ... especially when someone starts on such a young child.
Schools need to take bullying by adults seriously !
!!
"

10/31/2011:

"we removed our girls from a school that has a teacher bullying problem.
note: tenure is a big problem too! many parents have complained for years
about the same teachers and they are still there. i don't care how high
they rank academically, their social skills and common sense rank poorly!!
the girls are at a wonderful school now:)-charter!!
"

10/31/2011:

"My 5th grader was recently bullied by a teacher who punished the entire
class for my son's untimely burp during lunch! He is not a class clown;
it was an auto-response, inadvertant (and loud) burp. He was given bench
tickets to miss recess. The teacher decided to have the whole class help
punish my son, by forcing them to miss recess and on a day he happened to
be ill & absent. My son returned to a classroom of enraged kids, suddenly
given power (in a powerless world for kids) to have at my boy. Several
took advantage of this & let him have it, including several kids declaring
it was 'National Don't Talk to Gabe Day!' I wrote to the principal to
highlight a teaching source of bullying and told the whole story. I have
not heard a peep from an otherwise positive principal. I am still
deciding whether or not to write to our local paper (eyes & ears of the
community) or beyond. So many professionals wonder at the rise in
bullying & it is pretty shocking to learn it is pa!
rt of the curriculum at some schools!
"

10/31/2011:

"I agree there are some inappropriate teachers out there. My problem with
what I keep seeing on your website is blaming schools and teachers when
there are many parents out there who do not take responsibility for their
child's or their own actions. When children are disruptive at school, how
is it always the teachers fault?? How is it the teacher did something to
cause that behavior in the child?
"

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